Will You Give Certain Ingredients a Second Chance?

Today over on the Atlantic's food blog, there's an interesting article about giving anchovies a second chance. In it, Ari Weinzweig points out that "so many people's first experience with these little fish was by being offered outstandingly bad versions of them that they form their entire opinion from that understandably negative impression." I agree with his point of view and feel that certain polarizing ingredients should be given a second chance. For example, my father hates asparagus, but I'm certain it's because when he was younger he was served a gross preparation of asparagus. I've been begging him to give it another try, but he won't budge. How about you?

First off... I adore adore adore Anchovies!!! I eat them straight out of the tin!! Ha Ha...
When I was little I hated ALL THINGS green and if there was even the littlest piece of parsley on my pasta I wouldn't touch it! NOW though I eat EVERYTHING that is green and DON'T touch pasta! Now if my parsley has touched pasta, I don't touch it! ha ha ha! Funny how things change.

I used to HAAAAAAAATE squash and sweet potatoes and now they are a couple of my favourite vegetables. I also didn't used to like brussel sprouts, but discovered last year they can be tasty. Sometimes the preparation really does make all the difference, which is why I will try anything at least a couple of times before declaring that I hate it.

I've recently gotten over my absolute hate of cottage cheese. The trick is to mash fruit in it and it's edible. I have to agree with an above poster though: No matter how many times I try olives, I still hate them.

Heh. This just reminds me of the Futurama episode where Fry discovers his tiny bank balance with interest over 1000 years makes him super rich. He buys the last existing can of anchovies. Then when he gets his friends to try it on pizza, they all think it's gross and he says something like "No one likes them at first, but they grow on you."
Then Zoidberg (whose species ate anchovies to extinction) gobbles up all the remaining pizza and they are gone forever.

I agree, fuzzles. My wife always hated brussel sprouts, but after having some that were neither mush nor cooked to death, she realized their great potential. I think a big part of changing an opinion is deciding what you didn't like. Texture? Flavor? Seasoning? Most of these things can be changed.

If you like Indian food, Smacks, I highly recommend Bhindi Masala:
Okra cooked with onions and mild spices. It's the consistency that can get tricky with Okra!
I have given some foods second chances and have been pleasantly surprised. Mango was a fruit I used to despise, and now I crave it all the time.

im not sure about me, since im not too picky, and im sure i didnt like a food because of how it was prepared. my hubby on the other hand wont eat fish for anything! im sure he had a traumatic experience as a child choking on a bone or something but he wont budge now, regardless of how nicely its cooked. sigh